SHAFTSBURY, Vt. — An Arlington, Vt., man will face a charge of animal cruelty when he's arraigned next month in connection with a case involving a dog that starved to death.

Rick Thompson, 47, of 2760 VT Route 313, is scheduled to be arraigned May 19 in Bennington District Court, police said.

On April 6, Vermont State Police Trooper Elliott Justinger, of the Shaftsbury barracks, went to Thompson's Arlington home to investigate a burglary and found the dead dog in a barn, police said.

Thompson said the pet had died from kennel cough, an upper respiratory infection that can spread quickly among dogs kept in close quarters. The body was taken to a veterinarian, who determined that the animal had been starved to death, police said.